SOM Urban Design and Planning Partner Doug Voigt joins the opening episode of season two of Be All You Can, a podcast from Godrej Enterprises Group, to discuss how cities can grow while restoring the natural systems that sustain them. In conversation with host Hrishikesh Kannan, he explores the role of public space, community participation, and ecological restoration in shaping healthier cities.
“The quality of the public realm is what makes cities great,” says Voigt. For him, the spaces between buildings are the starting point for creating cities that can adapt over time while improving people’s daily lives. He advocates for regenerative design that restores ecological function, supports biodiversity, and creates opportunities for people and nature to thrive together.
Drawing on Chicago’s Wild Mile, Voigt describes how a floating wetland park developed through collaboration with Urban Rivers, the city, and surrounding communities can offer lessons for waterfronts around the world. He also reflects on SOM’s work along Detroit’s riverfront, where a child’s question about bicycle access helped reveal an opportunity to connect neighborhoods to the water.
Voigt discusses how lessons from the Wild Mile informed a “living levee” concept for Guangzhou’s Pearl River waterfront. The approach, inspired by mangroves, explores how flood protection infrastructure can also create habitat and improve water quality.
Looking to Mumbai, Voigt sees an opportunity to reconnect hills, forests, and the coastline through a network of public spaces and ecological corridors. He argues that growing cities can accommodate greater density within their existing footprints while improving access to nature. As urban temperatures rise, he identifies shade, tree canopy, material choices, and spaces that capture breezes as essential considerations for design.
The conversation also examines how artificial intelligence can help designers evaluate environmental performance and explore alternatives more quickly. For Voigt, a project’s success ultimately depends on its contribution to people’s physical and mental wellbeing—and on hearing from residents about how it affects their daily lives. Asked what makes a city successful, he offers a simple answer: “It becomes a place where people and nature can thrive.”
Watch or listen to the full conversation on Be All You Can, available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.